Panorama — Season 52

Aired 21 January 2004

Whilst we await Lord Hutton's verdict, Panorama provides a factual account of the fight between the government and the BBC and some of the events surrounding it.

Aired 22 February 2004

The Government is spending millions on schemes to identify children who may become tomorrow's criminals. The idea - if you get to kids young enough you can divert them from trouble.

Aired 29 February 2004

Panorama exposes the secret camps in Zimbabwe where Robert Mugabe's government trains thousands of youths to torture and kill.

Aired 7 March 2004

What is the BBC for? Is it too big, too commercial, dumbed down? Is it still a trusted public service broadcaster whose licence fee should be preserved? The government is asking for the public's views by the end of March.

Aired 10 March 2004

In a Panorama Special, the story of two British families whose sons were held at Guantanamo and testimony about the treatment some detainees say they experienced there.

Aired 14 March 2004

Tax is back in the news again - as pensioner protests grow against Council Tax, experts warn that taxes may have to go up, and the Conservative party argues for restraining public spending.

Aired 21 March 2004

After the Madrid train bombs, Jane Corbin reveals how the war in Iraq has given Al Qaeda a new lease of life and investigates the terrorists' European connections.

Aired 28 March 2004

In April 2003, as Saddam's statue was being toppled in Baghdad, US Marines were locked in a deadly gun battle with Saddam Hussein and his supporters just across the city. Yet their Ace of Spades escaped.

Aired 4 April 2004

Ten years after he encountered the scene of a massacre in Rwanda during the genocide of 1994, Fergal Keane returns to investigate how ordinary men became pitiless killers, hearing of the slaughter given by the perpetrators themselves.

Aired 9 May 2004

The problems of drug addiction have been known about in the UK for at least a generation. But there is one group of individuals, the most vulnerable group, who are the innocent victims of drug abuse - children of drug addicted parents.

Aired 16 May 2004

This film is a mock exercise of what might happen in London if there was a terror attack now. In a unique fusion of drama, detailed research and expert discussion Panorama puts Britain's emergency plans to the test.

Aired 19 May 2004

Panorama reports on the scale of the abuse and torture of prisoners in Iraq and elsewhere. Jane Corbin investigates who had command responsibility for American and British forces implicated in this scandal and asks who knew what, when.

Aired 6 June 2004

Cut-price booze and lax licensing laws have left many towns at the mercy of weekend binge-drinkers. As pressure mounts on the Gov't to intervene, Andy Davies asks if round-the-clock opening hours would lead to more sober drinking habits.

Aired 13 June 2004

Panorama looks at Muslim Identity in 2004, through the eyes of four young British Muslim women - who tell us why they are proud to cover up - to wear the hijab, and the veil.

Aired 20 June 2004

How a Birmingham criminal set in motion a huge undercover police operation after the US $100 bills he handed in at a bureau de change turned out to be the most sophisticated counterfeits ever produced.

Aired 22 June 2004

In an exclusive and wide ranging interview for Panorama, David Dimbleby quizzes the former President on his record, his political passions and how his public and private lives clashed.

Aired 27 June 2004

The Vatican claims condoms encourage promiscuity and do not effectively prevent the transmission of the HIV virus; Furthermore they claim there is science to prove it. Protesters and powerful critics argue otherwise.

Aired 11 July 2004

How did Tony Blair make the case for war to the British people and to Parliament? The Panorama team investigates what the intelligence services and Mr. Blair knew, when they knew it - and what was left out.

Aired 18 July 2004

Why, even after a major government review, is one of this country's most vital care systems for frail, elderly people still being under-minded by delays, obstruction and injustice?

Aired 4 August 2004

With just days before the Olympics begin, one race has already started: to decide which city will host the Games in 2012. During a year-long investigation, reporter Justin Rowlatt went undercover to learn what it takes to get the Games.

Aired 12 September 2004

The inside story of the Beslan school siege from some of those who survived. Damian Grammaticas, who covered the siege for the BBC, investigates what the terrorists did, and why they did it

Aired 22 September 2004

Mothers, doctors and children all contribute to a highly emotional debate about whether it is always right to save babies that are born on the edges of life - extremely premature babies.

Aired 3 October 2004

Are we being told the truth about the drugs we take? Shelley Jofre's investigation reveals that crucial safety information regarding a widely prescribed anti-depressant was missed for over a decade.

Aired 10 October 2004

In May the World Health Organisation warned that there is a direct connection between eating too much sugar and a whole host of diseases linked to obesity. The sugar industry fought them all the way.

Aired 17 October 2004

From flick knives to meat cleavers, more and more teenagers are carrying blades. Rageh Omaar takes to the streets to investigate why and finds there's more to it than parents might realise.

Aired 24 October 2004

President Bush has pointed to his record in the "war on terror" as a reason why voters should re-elect him, but what do the families who lost loved ones on 11 September think of his action in Iraq and failure to catch Osama Bin Laden?

Aired 31 October 2004

Few American presidents have been as pilloried and parodied as much as George W Bush. But as the US goes to the polls, why do so many of its citizens believe he deserves four more years in charge? Andy Davies reports from Florida.

Aired 7 November 2004

The top 1% of wage earners are taking an ever larger slice of the national income. Steve Bradshaw investigates whether Britain is becoming like a US winner-takes-all society, and asks should we appreciate them for creating wealth and jobs.

Aired 14 November 2004

Are the people of Darfur in Sudan the latest victims of ethnic cleansing? Hillary Anderson goes behind rebel lines to uncover evidence of systematic killings on a horrifying scale.

Aired 21 November 2004

Welcome to the world of the tweens - that's the word marketing men have coined for children aged between eight and twelve. They say today's tweens are growing up faster than ever before.

Aired 28 November 2004

A programme showing the impact of some of Panorama's documentaries of 2004. The subjects included the Olympic Games, Seroxat, the rise of knife crime among children and dementia and continuing care.